Coming on the Clouds
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Big Idea: History is moving forward with purpose.
Big Idea: History is moving forward with purpose.
Recapitulating the context:
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Antiochus IV, 167 BC. Hasmonean Dynasty. Set up an altar to Zeus in the Holy of Holies. Sacrificed pigs on the altar. 12:11 says 3 1/2 years from then to the end of the age.
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
The Signs of the Heavens
The Signs of the Heavens
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Explain: This language was common in the Old Testament, sometimes it was not literal (Ezekiel 32:7-8, Isaiah 13:10). They pointed to the judgments of the false gods. From Revelation, this passage and places like Joel 2:10 and Isaiah 34:4, it seems that in this final moment, the symbolic becomes literal. All of the false gods, the antichrist and the pantheon of the sky, are shown to be powerless and the stars themselves blink out, as everyone looks and sees Jesus coming down. This is not just a display of God’s power, but a judgment of the idols of all the earth.
Apply: Although we may not worship the sun and the moon, when Jesus returns, lots of idols in our lives will go dark. Intelligence, whether theological or scientific, will suddenly lose its appeal when we are able to see Jesus. The sexual or relational idols which plague our culture, as people seek out value from intimacy, are demolished when we face the one that knows and loves completely. Our political idols of Republicans and Democrats are shattered when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords descends. All of the lies about “My life will be meaningful if ____” are consumed. The Son reigns, so the idols crumble. I think that, in this moment, the sky literally goes dark, but also think that it is clearly a visual aid to a spiritual reality.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Explain: Jesus appears in the sky and the “tribes of the land” mourn. Land = earth. They mourn when they see Him, fulfilling the prophecy of
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplications: And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
In that day there shall be a fountain opened To the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem For sin and for uncleanness.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, That I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, And they shall no more be remembered: And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Explain: Coming in the clouds
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Explain: Jesus ascended on the clouds to the right hand of God, to be made not just the Messiah of Israel, but the King of the Universe. So He can send them to the uttermost part of the earth, because all authority is His. So in Matthew, He has returned in the same glory as He left. Revelation 1:7 lays out the same idea.
The Transformation on the Earth
The Transformation on the Earth
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Explain: The trumpet rallies the troops for one final battle. Waking them for the battle of Armageddon, which He wins with the word of His mouth. “The last trump” does not necessarily refer to the last trumpet ever, so this cannot answer the time of the tribulation, but does point to the last trumpet for these individuals.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Illustrate: This trumpet is not Louis Armstrong’s, but a bugle of battle.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Argue:
Apply: When Jesus appears, the world crumbles, not just the idols or the flaws of this life, but death itself is broken. Our response to death should not be based on the permanent fear of this world, but on the promise that Jesus will come to break it.
Also, note the global nature of it. The whole earth united. Christians around the world brought together. Boundaries of language, culture and nationality are demolished. Even now, Christians should know that we have more in common with a Christian in Africa or Palestine than a non-Christian here in Alvin. The Family of God is united.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Explain: Fig tree is not a symbol of Israel, but a symbol of predicatable timing. Jesus had just used a fig tree with no fruit when it ought to have fruit as a symbol of Israel’s unreadiness for Him. In the same way, these signs tell us the season, even though we cannot know the day. The gospel is spreading, the birth pangs seem close and intense, the love of many waxes cold. Summer is coming.
“it is near” could be “He is near.”
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Explain: In the generation where the gospel reaches the whole world, Christ will return. Although our knowledge is imperfect, so we cannot start a stop watch when the gospel is preached to every nation, but we can know the season.
Illustrate:
Argue:
Apply:
The Security of the Word
The Security of the Word
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Explain: Absolute certainty that God;s word stands sure. Yes, the created order WILL pass away. But Jesus’ promises stand sure.
Apply: Do not fret at wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes or pestilence. Everything else may crumble, but God stands true.
Do you have faith in Him, or the stars which will blink out and the Kingdoms which He will crush beneath His feet?
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The world itself will pass away, but when Jesus comes like a thief in the night, everything that seems so solid will pass away. He delays now only until the fullness of the Gentiles has come.